Despite many difficulties and challenges, the growth of private businesses will be the highlight of Vietnam’s economy in the long term, heard a forum in Ho Chi Minh City on January 6.

The growth of private businesses will be the highlight of Vietnam’s economy
in the long term, experts said at a forum on January 6 (Photo: VNA)

The Investment and Business Development Forum was held by the Vietnam Association of Business Development Services Organisations and e-magazine BizLIVE.vn.

Participants shared the view that private firms should be more active to help the economy overcome challenges and adapt to international standards.

They said the Government is planning to set up a special working group to deal with overlapping business-related regulations, which could be a breakthrough step in improving the investment and business climate in 2020.

Ministries and sectors are also working hard to address obstacles to public investment, thus boosting the disbursement of public funds and stimulating private capital flow, they noted.

Economic expert Tran Du Lich, member of the Prime Minister’s economic advisory group, said Vietnam’s economy at present is better than five years ago. The factors that used to cause macro-economic uncertainties like the banking sector have now become very stable.

However, he also pointed out that there remain numerous challenges facing the economy.

Taking businesses’ access to capital as an example, Lich said five years ago, many companies complained about capital shortages, and that remains an issue today. The economy doesn’t lack capital, but the problem is that companies are unable to access it.

The longer such bottlenecks exist, the more difficult it is to handle them, he said, voicing his hope that the economy will develop at a higher level in the next 10 years, provided institutions and resources are promoted.

Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc said 2020 will be another year full of difficulties and challenges for the economy due to the global growth slowdown. The size of the Vietnamese economy has expanded fast, but its health still has problems.

He cited statistics as showing that like in previous years, the processing – manufacturing remained the “star” of the economy in 2019, but its unsold inventory was also high. Many businesses did not report a profit while exports to most markets declined and were still dominated by foreign invested firms.

Although the business environment has much improved, it has yet to meet expectations. Vietnam’s business climate currently ranks fifth in ASEAN, but there is still a long way to go to reach the target of entering the top four, Loc added.